Over the last few weeks, we have had three BMW E9 3.0CS’s in the shop. A silver CSi was here for service, a green CS just sold and this blue car is still looking for a new home. This is a very clean CA car with all records from new. It has all 3 sets of keys which is a blessing as they are so hard to duplicate.

BMW CS 1972

The car has some tasteful modifications like Weber Carbs, tube headers and Alpina wheels. The interior is extremely nice and appears to be original but I can’t tell for sure if its been re-upholstered. The carpeting is original brown loop and the trunk lid mounted took kit is complete and nearly perfect.

BMW 3.0CS Toolkit

Having lived in dry climates, this car is extremely solid. The front fenders were repainted but the rest of the paint is faded original and considering the age, its really nice. BMW E9′s were built by Karmann Coachworks and had a tendency to rust away very quickly. There is a cavity in the front fender area that fills with debris and moisture causing massive structural damage to the car. Using a mirror and flashlight, this area is solid on the car. It appears that other problem areas are clean and solid except for some rust caused by abrasion from the wheels on the rocker panel covers.

As mentioned in a previous post, early production Lamborghini’s really impress me. This Islero is part of a large collection of cars that lives at our shop and it didn’t get the memo that Italian Sports Cars are problematic. Its not like the car has never needed anything, about 4 years ago the entire suspension was overhauled as was the transmission. A few years ago we replaced the clutch and fixed an oil leak but at this time, it starts easily, runs great and goes down the road like a champion.

The car makes a great visual impression with good paint and an outstanding orignal interior but the hidden areas are more impressive. The undercarriage is immaculate and detailed nicely with plated hardware and powder coated components. The shocks are overhauled and all wheels are in excellent condition. The engine is amazing with no smoke or leaks and you can lug in 4th and feel it pull seamlessly to redline. Speaking of that, the huge dial tach and speedo are so cool, this car is awesome.

The seller is not thrilled about selling this car but he needs to free up some space for an upcoming project. He drove the car a lot and never worried of problems when he was behind the wheel.

Last fall, a customer asked me to check out a cool 1966 Jaguar XKE Roadster on Ebay. I contacted the seller who told me that his father purchased the car when new and it has never been out of the family. We bought the car, shipped it to the shop and did a bunch of work to make it a perfect driving yet very original example. The interior is incredibly well preserved but the carpets were a few random threads so we replaced the main carpets and left the rest of the original “Hardura” and that velvety stuff in the back area. We have spent a ton of time behind the wheel of this XKE and it is one of the best we have had. It has a supple original feel while feeling super crisp and responsive. Everything works perfectly on this car except the original hazy window in the convertible top that you can’t see through. This is a very special matching numbers example with a perfect original tool roll and lots of little details that would make a Jaguar expert very happy. Even though the owner loves this car, he has some college expenses coming up and is ready to sell the car.

I have tons of photos of this car including the tool kit and other details so let me know if you would like more information or specific shots. The tool roll is like a little treasure that you have to carefully unwrap to see the delicate Dunlop tin brake bleeder kit and all of the clunky tools. So cool.

Over the last few years, I have located a few Porsche’s with some great documentation including original sales invoices and service history from new. There was a silver 1972 Porsche 911T Coupe that had the bill of sale from Malcolm Pray Porsche in CT. to the first owner. In the folder were a number of other service receipts from new.

I then purchased a 1968 912 with all kinds of service history from new and nearly every receipt from new noting everything from oil changes to every gas fill up and notes on gas mileage.

Last winter I bought a 1960 Porsche 356 Roadster with the original sales invoice from a Distributor in Germany, Ruffay Porsche to the first owner in the USA.

Porsche Roadster Sales Document

The newest car is a 1969 Porsche 911T Coupe in the original color of Tangerene. It has the sales receipt from Porsche North America in New Jersey to Breen VW/Porsche in Illinois. It has the invoice from Breen Porsche to the original owner and every invoice from that day forward. This is an outstanding car with the original matching numbers 2.2 liter long block in a crate and an enhanced correct type engine in the chassis. This car is incredibly fast and properly set up so it performs like a Carrera 2.7RS.

I recently purchased this 1983 Porsche 911SC Coupe and am just thrilled about how nice this car is. There are a few visual cues that prove that its a European Production car such as the narrow bumper over-riders to fit the long license plate and rectangular side markers on the front fenders. This car has low miles and flawless paint and spectacular original interior that is testament to the care this car has received over the years. Its currently in Orlando Florida and in a few days I’ll fly in and drive it to Amelia Island for the big show and Auctions on March 6-9. It’ll be so great to get out of the Northeast after this brutal winter.

If you are at the Amelia Island festivities this week, look out for this car and grab a card off the windshield wiper, I’d like you to take it for a spin and get your feedback.

Back in September, I saw this 246 GT on ebay that was owned by a man in Winnipeg, Manitoba across the border in Canada. Based on the photos and description, it appeared to be in similar condition to the 206 that I bought in the Czech Republic back in April 2012. This 246 appeared to have been driven a lot when new but garaged and preserved since the guy bought it in Germany in 1981. In the late 80′s he imported the car to the United States, then into Canada. While the guy didn’t restore or service the car, he didn’t let it deteriorate too badly.

I think ebay is great but lately I refuse to bid on higher value items because people use that “snipe” app which I can’t compete with nor do I want to! I hate that stupid app because I just end up bidding against myself because the high bidder doesn’t even have the money to buy the item! In the last year I’ve had about a dozen or so “second chance offers” because the “high bidder” isn’t really prepared to buy the item. Needless to say, I didn’t want to buy this car on ebay!

So, I emailed the seller of this 246 GT asking him to contact me if the car didn’t sell on ebay and sure enough, two days later a man called me from Winnipeg! He reached out to the high bidder through ebay messages, email, and phone but he couldn’t be found so we quickly stuck a deal and I sent him a check.

Mackey Group shipped the car from Winnipeg to my friend Jerry’s warehouse in Montreal so I could drive it across the border between Vermont and Quebec. Thankfully, the cold and snow held off and I got it to the border without drama, but one mile into the U.S. on I-89, the car ran out of gas! Here is a photo of it on the side of the road.

Ferrari 246 GT Series L

The car is now for sale at the shop. I checked it over and while it has some needs, its a totally complete and straight car that’s ready to be serviced and driven, or broken down for restoration. “L” series cars are more like the 206 Dino having center lock wheels, folding foot rest and that funky long glove box door. One of my favorite features is the wood rim steering wheel which was missing on this car so I just purchased one from a friend to make this a more accurate example.

These old Station Wagons are so cool, 3 rows of seats, Flat Head V-8, Wooden bodies! So cool. This car is in the shop for minor work and then we are going to sell it so let me know if you are interested.

After a few months of negotiation, I finally got this 512 Berlinetta Boxer into the shop from the Midwest. The car is very nice, a clean example with a legitimate 28,000 miles on the odometer. Even though the timing belts are well past their service life, I took the car down the road for a gentle test drive to see how the all of the components worked and was very impressed. The gear change into 2nd is smooth, shocks and brakes work very well and the steering is tight and responsive. The engine is super strong but I wasn’t about to really crank on it knowing that the belts are factory original!

This car needs very little to be driven and enjoyed and in a few weeks I’ll yank the engine out of the chassis and get the belts and tensioner bearing changed, check the valve clearance and overhaul the water pump. While its out, I’ll address other things like the fuel hoses, clean the engine bay and re-paint a few items. I’m thinking of installing new Michelin XWX tires on the wheels and re-painting a few things on the body but I’m not going to go too crazy restoring anything

BB 512 Ferrari

Weber Carburetor Ferrari BB512

A year ago I sold the blue 1979 BB512 and this spring I bought a 1982 Berlinetta Boxer in Mexico and imported it through the Laredo World Bridge Crossing. What a ride that was! Anyhow, I really like these cars and feel that they are a great value for the performance and rarity. With the instantaneous throttle response from the 4 Weber IF3C Carburetors and tons of low end torque, there aren’t any Ferrari’s that match the thrilling performance of one of these Carburetor equipped BB’s.

Lets see if I can describe this story so its understandable…. In the mid 1960′s, Ferrari was drifting away from Borrani wire wheels on their street cars and started using Campagnolo cast alloy wheels. The first style was the heavily ribbed and complex “starburst” wheel used on the early 275 GTB and GTS, followed by the smooth and sculpted “10 hole” wheel shown in the photo below. A 14″ size was used on the 330 GTC and later 275′s and a 15″ version was used on the 330 and 365 GT 2+2. The offset was different on the 330 and 365′s but they are identical otherwise. In this photo, the 365 wheel is to the left and 330 to the right. The 330 Rim edge is much deeper than on the 365 wheel but otherwise they are very similar.

330/365 Ferrari 15″ wheels

A man in Texas asked for my help to find a set of 5 cast wheels and straight ear center lock nuts for his 1966 Ferrari 330 GT 2+2. I called my usual contacts and realized very quickly that these are extremely rare parts and the center lock nuts were simply no longer available.

I did find a complete set of 365 wheels with the more “shallow” rim section but nothing for the 330 type wheel, however, the 365 GT 2+2 at our shop was rolling on the wheels that belong on a 330! I sent my customer a proposal that if he wants wheels for his 330, he’ll have to buy the five 365 type wheels that I found which would be fitted to our 365. He would have to pay me to crack test and refinish all 10 wheels which is a huge job because all of the wheels need welding and cleaning up and go through the process of preparing Magnesium Alloy for painting. After a huge sigh of relief, I just finished packing and shipping the 5 perfectly re-painted wheels to Texas with brand new looking cad plated hubs and original style valve stems and tires.

Since the stars were aligned just right, I found a set of 4 totally ratty straight ear lock nuts a little later in the project. I welded and straightened the bent and smashed knock off ears in preparation for re-chrome plating and when Mickey sent them back all shiny, they looked just like jewelery. Unfortunately I didn’t take a photo of them all glossy and perfect.

Branden found this 1977 Ford F250 Pickup for me a few weeks ago, I’ve been looking for another truck to replace the 1968 F250 that I sold this summer. This truck is super clean and solid and I am looking forward to getting it here so I can make sure everything works properly and use it next summer. Thanks again Branden!